My Science School

Paper was first made by wasps! They make paper for their nests by chewing up fragments of wood.

The ancient Egyptians made paper from a water reed called papyrus-hence the name paper.

As early as the second century the Chinese manufactured paper from bamboo fibres, pounded and pulped and then left to dry.

Paper made out of plant-like fibres was invented by the Chinese Cai Lun, who in the 2nd century China, mixed textile fibres from the bark of the mulberry in water and produced sheets of paper from that. The invention of paper was one of the reasons for the successes of early China, through easier governing of the country.

Archaeological findings have shown that paper was first made from plantlike fibres, were already used from 140 to 87 BC.

The art of papermaking was first exported from China to Korea and Japan around 610 AD. Arabic people have learned the papermaking technique in the 8th century from Chinese, as is being told, from Chinese people skilled in papermaking who were captured. The Arabic people spread the knowledge during their military campaigns in the North of Africa and the South of Europe. The first paper manufacturing in Europe started in 1144 in Xativa (near Valencia) in Spain. The first papermaking in countries in Europe, which were not controlled by the Arabians, was in the 13th century in Italy and Spain, although the usage of paper was already known in Europe since about 1100. A paper mill in Fabriano (near Ascona) in Italy existed in 1276 (and still exists nowadays). Around this time sizing paper with animal glue was invented in Italy. The Germans had their first paper mill in 1389, followed by the rest of Europe at the end of the 15th century. In Belgium the first paper production was in Huy (Hoei) in 1405 and in Holland in Dordrecht in 1586.

Picture Credit : Google

Alfred Nobel, a Swedish chemist, invented dynamite in 1867 and gelignite in 1875. During his early experiments his laboratory blew up, killing Nobel's younger brother and four workers.

Nobel made a huge fortune out of the manufacture of explosives and left the biggest part of the money for annual awards called Nobel Prizes. The seven prizes for physics, chemistry, are economics, physiology or medicine, literature and peace.

To make the handling of nitroglycerine safer Alfred Nobel experimented with different additives. He soon found that mixing nitroglycerine with kieselguhr would turn the liquid into a paste which could be shaped into rods of a size and form suitable for insertion into drilling holes. In 1867 he patented this material under the name of dynamite. To be able to detonate the dynamite rods he also invented a detonator (blasting cap) which could be ignited by lighting a fuse. These inventions were made at the same time as the diamond drilling crown and the pneumatic drill came into general use.

Together these inventions drastically reduced the cost of blasting rock, drilling tunnels, building canals and many other forms of construction work.

The market for dynamite and detonating caps grew very rapidly and Alfred Nobel also proved himself to be a very skillful entrepreneur and businessman. By 1865 his factory in Krümmel near Hamburg, Germany, was exporting nitroglycerine explosives to other countries in Europe, America and Australia.

Credit : Nobel Prize

Picture Credit : Google

A sailmaker, Oscar Levi-Strauss, in San Francisco in 1850 invented jeans. The word 'jeans' may come from 'jene fustien', a strong twill cotton cloth, first made in Genoa. The original jeans were brown until blue denim was used.

With their patent secure, Levi Strauss & Co. was the only company to make riveted clothing for nearly 20 years. When their patent expired, however, dozens of other manufacturers began to copy their clothing. By that time, the public routinely referred to blue jeans as “Levi's," a name the company eventually trademarked.

Although they were originally designed as work pants, blue jeans became a significant part of popular culture in the 1950s after James Dean wore them in the movie Rebel Without a Cause. Their popularity continued to grow, and today they're routinely worn as casual dress in the United States and many countries around the world.

The visionary immigrants who transformed denim and small pieces of metal into the most popular clothing product in the world probably never imagined how famous they would become. Indeed, no other clothing product has been identified more with American culture, especially the American West.

Credit : Wonderopolis 

Picture Credit : Google

The zip fastener or zipper with small interlocking teeth was invented back in 1890 by American Whitecomb Judson. It took about 20 years before his invention was satisfactory. The zip was first used on snow boots.

The popular "zipper" name came from the B. F. Goodrich Company, which decided to use Sundback's fastener on a new type of rubber boots or galoshes. Boots and tobacco pouches with a zippered closure were the two chief uses of the zipper during its early years. It took 20 more years to convince the fashion industry to seriously promote the novel closure on garments.

In the 1930s, a sales campaign began for children's clothing featuring zippers. The campaign advocated zippers as a way to promote self-reliance in young children as the devices made it possible for them to dress in self-help clothing. 

A landmark moment happened in 1937 when the zipper beat the button in the "Battle of the Fly." French fashion designers raved over the use of zippers in men's trousers and Esquire magazine declared the zipper the "Newest Tailoring Idea for Men." Among the zippered fly's many virtues was that it would exclude "The possibility of unintentional and embarrassing disarray." 

The next big boost for the zipper came when devices that open on both ends arrived, such as on jackets. Today the zipper is everywhere and is used in clothing, luggage, leather goods and countless other objects. Thousands of zipper miles are produced daily to meet the needs of consumers, thanks to the early efforts of the many famous zipper inventors.

Credit : Thought Co.

Picture Credit : Google